Japan Hopes To Agree Sakhalin-Hokkaido Visa Waiver Deal During Putin's June Visit- Reports

The Japanese government is planning to reach an agreement with Russia on visa-free travel between the country's northernmost Hokkaido island and Russia's Sakhalin during the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Japan in June, Japanese media reported on Thursday citing government sources

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th April, 2019) The Japanese government is planning to reach an agreement with Russia on visa-free travel between the country's northernmost Hokkaido island and Russia's Sakhalin during the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Japan in June, Japanese media reported on Thursday citing government sources.

The Russian leader is expected to visit Japan for the G20 summit in Osaka, set for June 28-29.

According to the Kyodo news agency, the Japanese side hoped to mark Putin's visit with an agreement in principle on a long-pending treaty, which would stipulate the handover of two disputed islands � Shikotan and Habomai � to Japan, but gave up the idea as there was no prospect for any significant progress on the issue due to Russia's position.

Instead, Japan is now considering a visa waiver for short-term travel between Hokkaido and Sakhalin only, the news agency reported,

Japan had also reportedly been considering arranging Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to Russia in May, but shelved the idea due to Russia's tough stance in the negotiations.

The idea of visa-free travel between Hokkaido and Sakhalin was also floated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who said after a meeting with his Japanese counterpart in January that the two countries had no reason not to introduce visa-free travel, possibly starting with residents of the two islands.